5 Primary Skin Cancer Tests
There are five primary tests that healthcare professionals may perform if you have suspicious-looking places on your skin that could be skin cancer:
Skin biopsy
After giving you a local anaesthetic, a sample of skin will be taken to examine under a microscope. You may feel minor discomfort - a small needle stick, burning, and pressure.Shave biopsy
Top layers of skin will be shaved off the epidermis and a part of the dermis. It is performed with local anaesthesia.Punch biopsy
After giving you a local anaesthesia, a deeper sample of skin will be taken with an instrument that takes a cylindrical core sample of the skin layers and part of the fat layer.Incisional biopsy and excisional biopsy
With a scalpel, a wider and deeper sample of all your skin layers will be removed and then the wound is sutured with stitches. Incisional biopsies remove a portion of the tumour and excisional biopsies remove the entire tumour.Fine needle aspiration biopsy
With a thin needle, a very small sample of tissue fragments from a tumour will be withdrawn.